Sung pleaded guilty to the two offenses on November 9, 2012. Under federal law, a Currency Transaction Report must be filed by a financial institution with the IRS in regard to any currency transaction over $10,000.

It is illegal to structure transactions with financial institutions in order to avoid this filing requirement.

Florence T. Nakakuni, U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that, according to documents filed in connection with the case, Sung had structured approximately 254 transactions totaling $1,538,385 with domestic financial institutions through multiple bank accounts he had opened using passports under fraudulent identities to move currency he received from females employed at bars and/or clubs in Honolulu and Los Angeles.

Sung, a citizen of South Korea, was paid a commission to deposit and transfer the female workers’ cash proceeds.

The case resulted from a year-long investigation by U.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS - Criminal Investigation, and the Honolulu Police Department.

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